Latest report

Well, I had a doctor visit on Monday and everything looked really good. Even though I am having painful, horrible, body-wracking contractions, my cervix is staying strong. So no baby anytime soon. Which is great news, exceptt for the painful, horrible, body-wracking contractions. I wish pregnancy were as beautiful as it looks on tv. Anyway, my doctor is very impressed with how well I have kept my diabetes in check. I have NO sign of gestational diabetes. She had told me at my first appt that there was a 100% chance that I was going to have that complication and have to go on insulin for at least part of my pregnancy, but that is not the case. The baby is normal size, so I will not have gigantore baby... which is a miracle due to my pre-existing diabetic condition. I have only gained 9 lbs so far in this pregnancy, so everything else is really going fantastic. Besides the painful, horrible, body-wracking contractions. I have been watching the Jazz in the Western Conference finals and that may be a contributing factor to the contractions. My father-in-law is sure that if I continue to watch the basketball games, I will have this baby right on the couch, because I get so worked up! Justin's Arkansas interview went well yesterday. They said they would let him know if they want to meet with him further. But since he hasn't heard by now, (it has not even been 24 hrs) he thinks that it is a no-go. He really was hoping this would work out. But I say we need to give it a little more time before we give up. We should hear from Georgia by the end of the month. Justin's play opened last night. He will be very happy when it is over. It has been difficult for him. He is constantly on the go, and it will be nice when he is home in the evenings again. The kids need a bath desperately. Caroline can do it herself, but Hilton still needs help and it is really painful for me to be crouched over the bathtub. So I will be glad when Justin can do that every night. My friend, Erin came over last evening with her kids. She brought pizza and limeade and the kids played and I held her adorable 4 month old son. It was so nice to have someone over to talk to that I nearly cried when she left. It gets very lonely when you have nowhere to go. And people don't want to "bother" you when you are on bedrest. Tina, my sister, came to visit me when I was in Ogden last week and that was WONDERFUL!!! It was so nice to be able to talk to someone! I have had some friends call occasionally, but it is not the same as a visit. Once the weather warms up and summer starts and school is out, maybe some schedules will slow down and more people will have time to hang out. Speaking of warming up! It snowed yesterday! We got about an inch on the ground that did not melt until afternoon! It is very chilly out there. It is supposed to gradually warm up again, but last week it was in the 80's! That is Rexburg for ya!

My boring life...

Well, I am paying bills online today so I am out of bed. I know I should not be, but I am really getting cabin fever. I know I will be paying for it tonight when I am having contractions again... We went to Utah so Justin could go to his interview in Georgia. Did I tell you he had a job interview in Georgia? Anyway the interview went really great, but Justin does not want to go there. The school boasts 219 students, that is the entire college! And is really run down. Not to mention the nearest livable town is 45 minutes away. If he gets an offer, we will pray about it, but it is unlikely he will take it. But more good news! He has a phone interview on Tues with Southern Arkansas University! I have done some research about the school and the town of Magnolia and they seem pretty great. So I am really going to pray that this job is a better opportunity for him and that he will get an interview and an offer from them. I have been having very vivid dreams about having this baby. The other night I dreamt that I had the baby, it was a boy, and he came out as a one or two yearold. The kid had braces on his teeth! Last night I dreamt that I had a doctor that only spoke Spanish and she was going to do my C-Section with a huge knife in my run-down apartment, that I aparently lived in. And there were all kinds of people there to watch and noone was wearing scrubs! And Justin kept touching the knife and I kept saying, "You are going to make it unsterile!!!" Pretty freaky. Anyway... My life is very boring. I go from the bed, to the couch, to the bed. That is my exciting life. The kids are frustrated because I can't take them to the park. I am too! I hate having to lay down all the time. But even sitting up for more than an hour causes pesky contractions. So I always have to be horizonal. Hmm, is there a way (besides the obvious) that I could make money having to lie down all time! Anyways, if anyone gets bored, call me! I spend a lot of time on the phone...

I Like the taste of mail

hilton licked an envelope and his reaction was, "Hey! I like the taste of mail!"

The Latest

Well, we knew it was coming. I am on bedrest. But I am not following it very well. It feels like I am doing pretty good though. But I cannot be in bed all the time. Like right now I am in Justin's office using the computer. I have to pay bills and stuff! But I promise I am taking it easy. I told the Prmary Pres that I will not be there most sundays, and she was cool with that. A lot of the stuff I do is on the computer anyway. But I was looking forward to a summer full of fun at the water park and Smith Park and putt putt. We will have to settle for air conditioned movie theaters and a tiny pool in the back yard. I also had geat plans for planting some flowers and tomato plants in the back yard, but the weeding only got half-way done, so that ain't gonna happen either. Some GREAT news! Justin has a job interview next week! At a tiny little private school in Georgia called Andrew College. We are very excited!!! It pays well and it is a permanant job! So we are very thrilled. He will be flying out Mon and returning Wed and since I cannot be home alone for more than 24 hours, the kids and I will be going down to stay with his parents in Ogden. It won't ne very fun though since I can't do anything or go anywhere. And his mother will definitely make me stay in bed. I need lots of book ideas! I have gone through my own arsenal and I have run out of great books. I like lots of different kinds... But I love mysteries! But any suggestions would do! You can feel free to email me... The weather in Rexburg is great. It is in the upper 70's which is very unusual for this time of year. Which makes me believe it will be a very hot summer. But for all you former Rexburgites, we are getting an Applebees!!! It is scheduled to open June 27th! The bldg is up so it looks like they are right on schedule! Also... let us bow our heads in mourning for the loss of... The Hideaway Tavern... Yes, this monument is gone. It was up and running just a few short weeks ago and now, it is no more. They totally demolished it and now there is just an empty lot. I have no clue why. That place has been there forever!!! Well, that is the news from this front! Please keep Justin in your prayers that he may get this job!! It would be great for us!

Weeding and Mormons

SOOOO, we no longer have the internet at home. But I am coming to Justin's office every other day to check email and blog when there is something to blog about. So do not fear. On Monday the kids and I had a fun day. I was feeling great. I went to Kmart and got the crib for the baby, now all we need is the matress and we will be set! Then, when Caroline got home, we started to weed the flower bed. That is a generous term, flower-bed. Because there are no flowers in there yet. Just weeds. And it is FULL of weeds. But I told them when we get all the weeds out we will plant flowers. So Caroline was working so hard, doing a GREAT job. Hilton was mostly just pulling the weeds and making "soup" out of them in a bucket full of water. But he also enjoyed the digging in the dirt part. THe kids were fascinated with the ants and the bugs that we saw. We talked about why Heavenly Father gives us weeds and not just flowers and good plants. It all made perfect sense to Caroline. Caroline found a ladybug with a burt leg. (I honestly have no idea how she determined that.) And she made a little house for it. She is in a musical this week and she plays a ladybug, so she feels very close to all ladybugs everywhere. By the end of the day, I was beat. I had to get in bed with contractions wracking my body and at one point I had 5 in an hour and that is the magic number where I am supposed to go to the hospital. But the kids were already in bed and I didn't want Justin to worry, so I just lied and said that I was fine. I contracted all night long, but never got up to 5 in an hour again, so I just kept my mouth shut. Yesterday was a hard day too, but today I am doing a little better. I haven't had any since 4am this morning, so I am hoping the worst is behind me for the week. I really do not like this pregnancy because I feel like all I do is complain and cause people to worry. But I am just glad it will be the last one. Did anyone see that PBS special about Mormons the last 2 nights? I really felt like it was pretty fair and balanced, if you view from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about the church. Last night's wasn't nearly as good as Monday night's, but they were both pretty good. There were a lot of things that I wish they would have talked about that they didn't, like famous mormons. But they spent 4 hours on the subject and got in a lot of good stuff. I had never really known much about the Montain Meadows Massacre, I guess growing up in the East, I had never heard of it until I moved out West! But that was interesting to me. And it just goes to show that Mormons are human beings, with human characteristics and character flaws. People expect more out of us. We expect more from ourselves... but we are not infalible. We make mistakes. And sometimes those mistakes are huge. But we have found that if we keep our covenants and read the scriptures, pray and have FHE we can avoid serious mistakes. Some of the things said in the program put a little seed of doubt in my mind. Because they were doing it from both sides. But then I talked to Justin and he made me realize that it is okay to have doubt, because you can ask, and the doubt will be erased. It is! Everytime.

Ok, I am getting up!

So I am so happy to see Ginny's blog back up and running. Shout out to Ginny! Anway it has been an uneventful week. The weather has been totally gorgeous and I have been on my back. I went to Walmart on Monday and I am afraid it did me in. I started contracting again and Justin has made me stay either on the couch or in bed. I have not been sleeping well at night so I have been trying to get little naps in the day. But Justin came home from work early yesterday and took Hilton to get a couple of groceries for dinner and then he mowed the lawn and made sure I was ok. He is being a saint. And then he tells me, Thanks for doing such a great job of keeping the house clean. He NEVER says that. It made me feel great. Especially since I am not doing a great job of that right now. I can wipe off the counters and pick up a couple things off the floor, but he has been doing everything. He is also in another play, sending off applications daily and teaching an extra class that he did not expect to teach. He is a gem. Anyway, I am going to go grocery shopping today because we are really out of food. Even though Justin wants me in bed. I just cannot stand it anymore. I have got to get out of this house! Out of my room! Off of the couch! I have even put on mascara and lipgloss. Oh, now don't get too excited. I am still pregnant and miserable, but I am wearing a very cute lacy top today, so I figured I must make some sort of effort. So I am even wearing jewlery. I am hoping my huge, hoop earrings will take the focus off of my gigantic belly... like that will happen.

New discoveries

Hilton discovered his heartbeat today. He discovered, on his own, that if he runs, his heart will be faster and it takes a little while for it to slow down. He still hasn't figured out that what also happens when he runs is that he has an asthma attack. He just doesn't get the connection! But it amazes me everyday what he is learning to do and learning about himself and the world around him. Unfortunately he learns on his own since I am always on my back. No, I am not a ho... that is not my profession... yet (although it may come to that if Justin doesn't get a job soon...hahaha!) But "taking it easy" is a rather tiresome job. I find that I am always sleeping. I have been reading some great books though. I just read The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. And The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Both were equally entertaining but in completely different ways. So check em out if you have nothing on your current reading list! I have discovered that I am indeed a housewife. This was pointed out to me by my friend, Vicki who did not necessarily put it in those terms. But I was telling her all about our brand new dishwasher. We got it Friday and it works like a dream! Our glasses were gleaming and the dishes sparkled! I didn't even have to wash them before I put them in! It has a seperate washer for the top rack!!! The fact that she was jealous and I was so incredibly excited about an appliance, prompted her to tell me just how pathetic and old we really are...

One more thing

I am supposed to be in bed today. I had to go to the doctor for another glucose test yesterday. Which was FINE! These doctors have gotten me so worked up worrying every month I am going to have to go on insulin. But I was good to go. Anyway, on my way to the doctor, not a block away, I was rearended. I was stopped at a green light to turn left and the girl (emphasize "girl") behind me decided she did not want to wait for me and just kept going. Fortunately, my van was much bigger than her tiny little acura so there is only a tiny little scratch. But consequently, I had to stay at the doctor's office forever, hooked up to monitors to make sure my contractions didn't get to strong, or too often, and to make sure the baby was ok. All is fine, but I am sore and I have to stay in bed all day. Yesterday I was grateful for it, today I am just frustrated. I am not taking that advice lying down. I had to get the breakfast dishes cleaned up and the toast crumbs wiped off the counter. I am starting to get a little woozy, so I will now go lie back down. I would just like to say, that I am sooo glad that in 3 months I am gettting a sweet little baby out of this. Otherwise it would totally not be worth all this. Not to mention that I am gaining back the weight I lost before I became pregnant. Not all, but more than I wanted...

Day at the Spa

Yesterday I finally used my birthday gift from Justin. ( my birthday is in Sept) I went to a spa. I got the full treatment. A facial, a massage, and a pedicure. The most wonderful, indulgent thing I have ever experienced was that facial! How amazing! I cannot believe what I have been missing out on all these years! I thought that the massage would be awesome, but it was nothing compared to the facial. If you have never tried one, you have got to treat yourself. It was so worth it. My skin is softer than a baby's butt and I look radient. I swear I look different. I didn't even need makeup afterwards. The rest of the experience was great too! Believe me! I just relaxed and got pampered. I got all the bottled water I wanted. I got gourmet cookies and chocolates and a fancy drink. It was the "Pregnancy Pampering Package." It was all devoted to a pregnant woman. I was in heaven. Now my feet are summer-ready, and I felt invigorated all day yesterday. Of course, it doesn't carry over to today, unfortunately, but I can sit here and remember...

The play and our weekend

Caroline was in The House of Bernarda Alba. And this was closing week. Justin took some pictures of her on the set and in the makeup room getting ready. She played a daughter of a beggar woman. On another note, it is so nice to have Justin home again! Saturday was uneventful. He literally stayed in bed all day until 4:30 when we took the kids to McDonald's and then he went to the Priesthood session of conference. So we all just watched conference. Yesterday, he got up and cleaned the entire house! I did the rest of the laundry and he cleaned the house from top to bottom. Except the bathrooms. But the kids rooms are picked up and vacuumed, the livingroom is clean, the kitchen is clean. He even got me to clean off my desk, and I found things I had lost months ago! We listened to and watched conference and in between sessions, the kids built a "foam bunny cottage" with a tiny little bit of help from me. I will get pictures of it today and post them tomorrow. The problem is that Hilton has been carrying that thing everywhere so I can never pin it down. But that thing kept the kids occupied for literally over 3 hours!!! I mean, they sat there and glued and put together this thing with no fighting, no food, nothing. When the second session of conference started they stayed put and every once in a while would look up when a talk mentioned baptism or something else that interested them. It was a very nice day yesterday. Not to mention how great it is to have an immaculate house again. Justin undertook everthing that I cannot or should not be doing right now. He is just a gem!